fickle
by pepperro
Summary: Had Lance met Katie before becoming a paladin, maybe things would've gone differently. Or maybe not. Rated T for Lance's (and Pidge's) teenage language.
1. encounter

Sometimes, Pidge couldn't stand it.

The crowded bathrooms. The snarky, snarling dorm head.

The girls, though, were seriously lucky.  
The female dorm leader was sometimes too proud, but she was nice. And Pidge swore the girls' restrooms always had air fresheners and fully-functioning soap dispensers in them.

 _Discrimination?_ Pidge sometimes thought. But she knew that wasn't the case. It's just that the male dorm head had had 23 years of previous military experience as an officer, and the girls just always remembered to put in a request for soap when they were close to running out.

But of course, Pidge didn't really have anyone to voice her problems to. Lance would just laugh and tell her to "man up" (his favorite phrase for the week). Hunk, well... he would probably listen, if he wasn't so busy trying to keep Lance out of trouble.

So sometimes she needed some out time. Maybe once a week, when she wasn't looking for alien signals on the radio. Which was why she was standing in front of a mirror in a library downtown trying to button up a flowery white sundress.  
It wasn't that hard "pretending" to be a girl. After all, she was one. Put on some contacts and a ponytail clip-on, and _voilà_ \- a girl.

It also wasn't that hard sneaking out of the Garrison at night. For all the pride and prestige her mentors put in their security, two seconds of light hacking was all it took, and she walked right through the front gate.

She didn't really know what to do, though, now that she was outside and in disguise. So she just stuffed her shirt and shorts into her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and made her way to the 24/7 coffee shop.

* * *

"Come on, Hunk, man up!"

Hunk looked down at him from his bunk. "I dunno, man, this seems like a pretty bad idea!"

"It'll be fun! We'll go downtown, catch some pretty girls... let's go!" Lance gestured to the door.

"Nope, I'm not gonna end up in the principal's office again. No way, nuh-uh." Hunk shook his head vigorously.

"Please!"

"No." He crossed his arms adamantly.

 _Oh, the arm cross._ Lance sighed. Hunk was being serious. Usually he gave in after some coaxing from Lance, but the arm cross was the last straw. There was no way he could get Hunk to agree now.

But tomorrow was the pilot simulation test! It determined whether or not the team would actually ever leave Earth this year.  
He needed to relieve some stress, take a break before the big day. So he was prepared to leave, with or without Hunk. He contemplated inviting others, but reminded himself that Pidge's gloomy attitude and boring brain might scare his chances with the ladies.

He put on his jacket and opened the door, taking one last look at Hunk. He was still shaking his head and crossing his arms. So Lance walked out.

He made his way through the halls quickly, his footsteps making light taps against the metal floors. Occasionally a guard would come by. Thank god there were a lot of trashcans to hide in.  
He turned through a couple of hallways and then realized, to his dismay, that he was lost. _No, I'm not lost,_ he thought to himself. _The great Lance is never lost._ He ran around some more. _Okay, yeah, I'm lost._

Just then he heard some chattering coming from his left. The very familiar voice of the snarky, snarling dorm head. _Shit_. There were no trashcans around. So he jumped into the bathroom across the hall, closing the door as quietly as he could. He watched as the male dorm head passed by with the female dorm head. Just as they were about to turn the corner, they stopped, still talking to each other.

 _Keep moving, keep moving!_ Lance groaned. _Turn the corner, for god's sake!_ But no, the dorm leaders were absorbed in their talk, and had stopped walking.

Lance looked around. How could he escape without them noticing? The halls were dark, but bright enough to see if someone was there. The bathroom had...  
A window. And it was open.  
He practically leaped out of his crouching position- he hadn't even noticed he was crouching- and dashed to the window. It was high up, but with his tall stature, Lance could just barely reach it. He pulled himself up easily (the one time he was glad the Garrison offered morning exercise sessions) and slid outside.

What would you know. He was facing the front gate.  
 _Of course_ , he told himself. _I wasn't lost_.  
Then he just walked out the front gate. For whatever reason, the sensors were turned off today. Lucky.

The trip to downtown wasn't too long. The stars were pretty that night. Lance didn't really like sappy stuff ( _"It's too heavy"_ ) but at that moment, he kinda wished Hunk had come with him and had been able to see the sky.  
Downtown was quieter than usual. A few wanderers walking around, some friends hanging out on the curb, but nothing big.  
Most of the shops were already closed, but a few were open this late at night. He made a beeline for Kerberos Kafé, his favorite coffee shop.

The hanging bell made a slight jingle as he pushed the door open. Warmth washed over his face as he took in the smell of fresh coffee. He looked around for a place to sit.  
It was a small café, but a comfortable one nonetheless. The worn-out sofa chairs, the low brown tables, the pleasant waiters, the dark coffee, the sweet snacks, the jazzy-yet-not music... Everything was perfect. Calm. Nothing could go wrong here. It was his home away from home.

But normally only the usuals- like the old couple who lived down the street and the young man who always worked away on his laptop- came at this hour, so he was mildly surprised to find a girl sitting alone at one of the counter stools, sipping quietly, holding a large mug with both hands.  
Not that it was a bad thing. She was... _kinda cute_. Not his usual type, but cute anyway. So he made his move.

He slowly meandered over to the counter, giving a curt nod to the old couple and waving nonchalantly to the working man as he put on a smooth smile. Catching a glimpse of himself in the reflection of window, he slicked back his hair and readjusted his jacket.

"Excuse me, are you an alien?" he asked the brunette girl, leaning one arm against the table the girl was sitting at.  
She looked at him surprised for a moment, her bright brown-orange eyes wide with shock. "W-what?"  
 _Damn, you ladykiller, you_ , Lance grinned smugly, winking. _You made her speechless with your good looks._  
"Because you look out-of-this-world!"

Silence.

He waited for her response. A minute passed. She still said nothing.  
Huh. He knew she was speechless, but didn't know she was that shocked. _Well, maybe she had realized what an honor it was to be talking to the Great Lance._  
Suddenly she burst out laughing, her head thrown back while she clutched her stomach with both hands.

"... Are you okay?" he asked her, slightly concerned as to what could have made her cackle like that.

"I'm... I'm fine...!" she gasped between giggles, trying to calm herself down, but failing to nevertheless.

He frowned. Yeah, she was cute, but this was getting a bit creepy. He was about to turn to leave, when suddenly she spoke. "How... are you... Lance?" She breathed, still trying to surpress some giggles with her hand.

"You. You know my name? Do I know you from somewhere?" Lance tilted his head, squinting his eyes.

She looked taken aback, brow furrowing, contemplating something. After some time she seemed to have made her mind, a small smile forming on her lips. "Maybe, maybe not." She laughed in a sing-song voice, leaning back and forth on the stool.

 _Okay. Really cute._

* * *

They made some light talk, about random things, from their preferred coffee drink to their favorite constellations.

"Actually, I'm training to become a pilot," Lance grinned, head in the air, stroking his chin.

"Oh, really now?" she raised an eyebrow, looking bemused. "I would've thought you were a model."

"I know, I know! It really is a pity. All the modeling agencies wanted me, but I told them I couldn't, since I sold my heart to space. Oh, the woe!" he laid the back of his hand against his forehead dramatically, leaning back with his eyes closed.

She started giggling again. Lance opened one eye to look at her, smiling. Even though he knew he was overexagerrating, he couldn't help it. Anything to hear her laugh.

When she was done, she looked up at the clock. Nearing 4 AM. She stood up abruptly. "Sorry Lance, but I really gotta go now."

"What? Can't you stay a bit longer?" Lance stared up at her. He surprised himself at how desperate his voice sounded.

"There's something important I have to do later. Don't want to fall asleep during the day," she murmured, hurrily picking up her things.

Lance knew he should go too. He didn't want to be tired during the simulation test, but...  
"But..."

"Maybe I can talk to you later?" the girl smiled at him, leaping off of her stool. _That smile_.

He gulped. Then he nodded slowly, silently.  
She gave a small wave, and then hurried off to the door.

"Wait!" he yelled at her. "What's your name?"

She paused and looked back. Her eyes glazed over, as if she was thinking.

"Katie."

And then she was gone.

Lance sighed and picked up his things. Well, time to head back... Hunk will definitely lecture him if he falls asleep during the day because of this.

* * *

Thankfully, he didn't fall asleep during the simulation.  
But they still ended up failing it.

Hunk couldn't completely blame Lance, though, because it turned out that Pidge almost fell asleep too.

* * *

"Remember, this isn't a simulation!" he heard Pidge yell in his ear.

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Lance grunted as he pulled the steer left.

"Woooaahhhhhhooooohhhh!" Hunk screamed. Keith and Shiro held onto the walls, frowning, as Lance gave the lion a sharp turn.

Lance knew his mind shouldn't wander, especially when piloting a large blue lion that talks to his head guiding him to some place he has no idea about though it was his first time in space and the lives of four other people depended on his choices, but he couldn't help it. And perhaps for the fifth time today he thought about the mysterious girl he met at the coffee shop. The one with the pretty laugh. Katie.  
He groaned. Had he had known this would've happened today, he would've asked for her number.

"Space to Lance, space to Lance! Where the hell are we going? And what-what-what the hell is that?" Pidge shouted.  
Before any of them could answer they were already in the wormhole.  
Lance pushed the thoughts of Katie out of his head as the lion landed on Arus.

But they kept coming back.

Even as he stood in front of the creepy, automatic doors.

Even as he walked through the empty, echoing halls.

Even as he looked around the silent rooms, wondering where everyone was.

And then, just like that, they were gone, as he held the waking Allura in his arms.

 _Fickle_.


	2. fabrication

"Morning, Allura, Hunk." Pidge trudged into the dining hall, rubbing her eyes under her glasses as she slid into her seat at the table.

"Good morning, Pidge! Coran had some work to do, so today Hunk made some breakfast!" Allura came in from the kitchen, holding a plate of waffles in each hand as she glided over to Pidge. Pidge took one plate, and Allura sat down next to her with the other.

"Waffles! Nice one, Hunk!" Pidge grabbed a fork and stabbed the syrup-covered goodness.

"If I eat anymore of Coran's space goo, no matter how healthy he says it is, I think I might die!" Hunk hummed in reply from the kitchen, pleased with his work.

Allura looked confused. "I think Jupiter Jelly is quite delicious though..." she murmured.

Pidge laughed.

Today was already starting to be a good day. Maybe she could persuade Shiro to put off their extra training sessions for tomorrow, just because everything was going so well today.

"LANCE!" a very angry Keith yelled from his room.

 _Ugh_. Pidge had spoken too soon.

" _LANCE, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY COMPUTER?!_ " Keith shouted.

"Nothing much, buddy, just a little customization!" Lance whistled from the training room.

"'CUSTOMIZATION' DOES NOT MEAN CHANGING ALL THE IMAGES TO PHOTOS OF FEMALE MODELS AND LOCKING ALL THE SETTINGS SO I CAN'T CHANGE ANYTHING, MUCH LESS MY DESKTOP BACKGROUND!"

"Oh yeah, you can thank me later for that!"

"LANCE, THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"  
Pidge could hear Keith's footsteps stomping through the castle.  
She and Allura stepped out from the kitchen into the hall just in time to see Keith enter the training room.

"Training sequence activated."  
 _Uh oh_. Pidge and Allura exchanged concerned glances, peering through the training room's window as they heard the automated voice configure the room's settings.

"What the hell, keep that thing away from me!" Lance yelped as Keith held out his sword in front of him.

"Aww, is Lance too weak to fight in the morning?" Keith growled sarcastically.

"No way! Bring it on!"

Those were his final words.

A few clashes, crashes, and " _OH SHIT_ "s later, Lance was on the floor with Keith hovering above him.

"What's your deal, man? It was just a joke," Lance groaned, rubbing his sore arm.

" _That's just the thing_ ," Keith glared at him. "You think everything is a joke."

"I do not!" Lance sat up and held out his hands defensively.

"You're always late for training sessions, hide our suits, blast loud music throughout the night, change the configurations on _OUR OWN COMPUTERS_!" Keith shouted.

"Well, I mean..." Lance trailed off.

"And what's more, you always hold us back on random planets because of your stupid flirting with girls!"

"There's nothing wrong with that!"

"There is if those certain girls _handcuff you to a tree and steal our lions_!"

Lance fell quiet. Pidge and Allura froze, but Keith went on, riled up.

"How successful _is_ your flirting anyway, hm? I bet none of those girls ever get back to you, even after _the Great Lance_ gives them his number!" Keith shouted.

 _Ouch_. "That's gotta hurt," Pidge whispered to Allura.

Allura walked past her and pressed the buttons on the door to the training room. "We have to stop this," she murmured. "Both of them are going too far." She inputed the opening sequence into the door pad, but nothing happened. "Why isn't this door opening?!" Allura grunted as she slammed the buttons.

"Here, maybe it's just stuck. Let me try," Pidge offered. She pushed against the handles as hard as she could, but to no avail.

"... A-actually, I am pretty successful!" Lance huffed, standing up.

"As if you'd show any evidence of that," Keith frowned, crossing his arms after putting away his sword.

"O-of course I could!" Lance mumbled, scratching his head furiously.

("Hey, Allura, I think I've got it! It started to move a bit!" Pidge whispered as she nudged harder against the door.)

"You're all talk, like usual," Keith sighed.

"Not-not true! Actually, I... have a girlfriend!" Lance stood up a bit taller. "Ob-obviously because of my successful flirting!"

Keith looked at him pointedly, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "Oh, really now. Care to tell me her name? Assuming she _does_ exist?"

"Uh..." Lance's eyes darted around the room, looking at everything but Keith. _A name, a name..._

"Uh, yeah, I got one! H-her name is Katie!"

 _BAM_. Lance and Keith looked up as the door to the training room suddenly swung open, with Pidge sprawled on the floor from the impact. Allura ran in after her. "Pidge, are you alright?!" she asked, worried, one hand outstretched for the smaller paladin to grab on to. After a moment of silence, Pidge suddenly pushed herself up from the ground, ignoring Allura's hand. She patted the dust off her shorts and glanced up at the ceiling, a strange, blank look on her face.

"Pidge." Allura waved her hand in front of Pidge's face, but Pidge didn't even blink. "Pidge? Are you alright...?" Keith frowned, moving forward to help her. Lance stared at her curiously.

Suddenly Pidge screamed.

Then stopped.

Then screamed again.

Then stopped.

"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick..." she muttered under her breath. Three pairs of eyes just stared at her, one pair concerned while the other two looked slightly amused.

Hunk rushed into the training room, a whisk and a frying pan in each hand. "Guys! What happened?! Who's attacking us?! Who's hurt...?" He stopped and lowered his arms as everyone continued to stare at Pidge. "Uh, what's going on? Why is everyone awkwardly staring at Pidge? Should I be staring too...?"

"It's nothing, Hunk. I think I'm just gonna throw up, that's all," Pidge sighed, rubbing her arm tiredly. She squatted down on the floor in agony. _Who cared if squats looked stupid._ Her social life was over anyway.

"Uh, are you okay, bro? I don't think puking is just 'nothing'..." Hunk scratched his chin.

"Pidge, are you alright?!" Shiro hurried into the training room and crouched down next to Pidge. He clutched a water bottle in his hand. He must've been working out earlier.

She looked up at him and gave a sad smile. "Shiro... I leave Roger to you... Please... keep my laptop..." She closed her eyes.

"Pidge! Don't die on me!" Shiro shook her shoulders, slight tears forming at his eyes. "Pidge, tell me what's wrong...!"

"Relax, Shiro, no one's gonna die," Lance smirked, a hand on his hips.

"Huh?" Shiro looked at Pidge, who couldn't help but giggle at Space Dad™'s over-protectiveness. He stood up awkwardly, coughing into his hands a couple of times and taking a sip from his bottle before straightening himself. "Uh, so guys... what happened here?"

"Pidge suddenly started screaming after Lance and I were arguing," Keith calmly explained the situation.

"Oh yeah, what were you guys arguing about anyway?" Hunk asked, licking some cream off of his frying pan.

"Lance changed some configurations on my computer, is all," Keith frowned. _He does that a lot nowadays_ , Pidge thought silently to herself.

"C'mon, Keith, can't you smile a bit? You frown too much for me," Lance huffed, voicing Pidge's inner thoughts out loud. _Impressive... but besides the point..._

"Hey, Lance, don't be such a jerk, man," Hunk admonished. "You go overboard with your jokes sometimes; trust me, I know."

Lance rubbed his neck sheepishly. "It's just fun and all, no harm no foul..."

"Oh, and apparently Lance has a girlfriend. A real, _living, talking, breathing_ , female partner," Keith drawled out the words.

"What? Lance has a girlfriend?" Shiro turned to face Lance. "I've never heard of this."

"Space Dad™ is back," Hunk whispered to Keith, who could only sigh solemnly in agreement.

"I-It's not as if I was trying to keep it a secret," Lance pouted. "I just never found the time to tell you guys..."

"I think that is lovely!" Allura laughed, clasping her hands together. "This just proves to show that any paladin, no matter how many horrific, primitive faults he may have, is worthy of respect, admiration, and adoration!" Lance beamed at her.

"Was that... an indirect insult?" Keith muttered to Hunk.

Hunk nodded. "Though Lance didn't notice."

"Not surprisingly."

"I can hear you guys!" Lance lashed out.

"So Lance... who's the-" _cough_ "-lucky girl?" Shiro smiled at him.

"I swear I heard him say ' _un-_ ' in that cough!" Hunk whispered to Keith. Before Keith had a chance to reply, Lance yelled, "I can _still_ hear you two!"

Composing himself, he turned back to face Shiro. "Her name is Katie!" Lance grinned at him.

Once again, Pidge felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. Shiro ruffled her hair. "What's wrong, Pidge? Are you still feeling sick? Do you want some water?" Pidge shook her head no.

So Shiro brought the water bottle to his own mouth instead, feeling tired after all the commotion of the younger paladins. Unfortunately, that was when he had registered Lance's words.

Everyone watched as the water spewed in a perfect parabola from Shiro's mouth. Hunk would later claim that he even saw a little rainbow.

Shiro couldn't stop coughing after he choked on the water. After a minute or so (with gentle pats from Allura) he finally calmed down.

"So... so, Lance..." Shiro cleared his throat. "Did you say... _Katie_?"

"Uh, yeah?" Lance shuffled his feet, slightly uncomfortable.

" _Katie_? Are you sure? Not _Kate_ , or _Katrina_? _Kristina_? Or _K... Kyle_?, Shiro squinted his eyes.

"Katie. Definitely Katie," Lance shook his hand furiously, as if waving the other ideas away. "Cute, long brown hair, bright eyes..."

"Lance, keep the love poems to yourself," Keith covered his ears in mock pain.

Shiro stared at Pidge. Pidge stared back. Her pleading eyes said something like " _I'll talk to you later. This is definitely NOT what it seems._ " He gave her a worried, though understanding, look, as if he could relate to her.

Pidge sighed. "Okay, okay, now that that's over, can we all just go eat breakfast now? I bet my waffles are cold by now."

"Good idea!" Hunk smiled, heading out of the room with his trusty whisk and frying pan in hand.

Allura walked over to Pidge, putting a hand on her shoulder warmly. "It must've really hurt when you pushed open the door," she smiled sadly. "I will definitely let Coran know so he can reconfigure it." Pidge nodded weakly in reply. She didn't have the heart to correct Allura as to exactly why she felt like throwing up and hiding under a rock in shame for the rest of her life.

Allura then walked out, with Lance following closely behind. Keith grumbled something about fixing his computer (" _from that goddamn virus known as Lance_ ") and trudged to his room, leaving Shiro and Pidge alone in the training room.

"So." Shiro gave her a curious look. "What was all that Katie stuff about?"

Pidge usually liked talking to Shiro, but sometimes, Space Dad™ gave her the shivers, like a child knowing she'd be grounded by her father. She knew she had no other choice, so she began a sad, tiring narrative.

"... Long story short, I regret everything."


	3. sighs

"Hey Lance, how's your girlfriend doing?" Hunk sighed as he flopped onto the couch in the rec room.

"What's with the mood, Hunk?" Lance leaned back in his recliner, flipping the pages of his space-paparazzi magazine as he crossed his feet on top of the table.

"Just... Just feeling so lonely today, man," Hunk yawned. "I haven't talked to my family in a long time."

"... Or Shay, right?" Pidge sat down next to him, holding a bowl full of juneberries. She held out the bowl to Hunk as he grabbed a handful and shoved them in his mouth. He stared down at the floor and gave a small nod, sighing.

"It'll be fine, Hunk. We're heading over to the Balmera now. We'll save her soon," Pidge comforted, giving him the rest of the juneberries.

"Aw, man, don't let me ruin the mood here," Hunk gave a weak smile. "C'mon, let's talk about happy things! Happy things! Lance, start!" he pointed energetically to Lance.

"What d'you want me to talk about?" Lance looked up from his tabloid. "I haven't spoken with my family for a while either..."

"How about your girlfriend?" Hunk ask. "I never even knew you had one back on Earth!"

Lance grunted. "Nah, it'll be boring if I talked about her. Let's talk about something else."

"Lance! After all this time we spent together, as a team, as friends, as brothers, through blood, sweat, and tears, you're still gonna keep this juicy gossip from me?!" Hunk cried out.

Lance coughed. He felt a bead of sweat slowly forming on his forehead. Everyone had been asking him questions ever since his outburst. _Damn, maybe he should've just admitted he was lying..._

Keith wandered into the room, face slightly red and a towel around his neck from his morning jog around the castle. "Don't expect too much, Hunk, since he definitely doesn't have one."

 _Okay, that was it._ There was no way he was backing out after what Keith had said. "I so do have a girlfriend! I already told you! Her name is Katie!" Lance shouted, standing up, the magazine falling to the floor from his knees.

Hunk and Keith looked up at his sudden yell. Pidge looked like she was about to gag. "Why so worked up, Lance? Did I touch a nerve?" Keith smirked.

 _That son of a..._ Lance sat back down calmly. "Or maybe your just jealous because I'm actually more successful than you, for once."

"J-jealous?! Of you? Don't make me laugh." Keith sputtered, crossing his arms.

"So, Lance, tell us about her!" Hunk eagerly exclaimed, stuffing more juneberries into his mouth as he bounced up and down on the couch.

"I-I think I'm gonna leave for a bit... Do some computer stuff, you know..." Pidge stood up to leave, but Hunk grabbed her arm.

"Hey now, Pidge, aren't you curious too? You can't just leave yet! The good stuff's just starting!" Hunk laughed. Pidge looked around for an escape, but seeing none, sighed and sat back down _. For all of Hunk's sensibility, juicy gossip was one thing he could not ignore._

With everyone's attention on him, Lance cleared his throat. "U-Uh, so yeah, as you all know, my girlfriend's name is Katie. Uh, she has brown hair and-"

"'And bright eyes.' Yeah, we all know. Is that the best you could come up with?" Keith interrupted.

Lance pouted. "I wasn't done talking yet! And I'm not making this stuff up!"  
Keith rolled his eyes, but Lance ignored him and continued.

"She likes puppies- has a dog named Rover- and her favorite drink is green tea latte. She has an older brother whom she admires, and her favorite constellation is Canis Major!"

Pidge covered her face with her hands. She felt like she was at one of those neighborhood mothers'-night-out meetings where all the women just talked about who was arrested that week and who was divorcing who.  
She gave him some credit, though. _Turned out he had a great memory._

"She has a dog named Rover? Hey, Pidge, isn't your robot thing named Rover too?" Hunk turned to talk to Pidge.

"W-what a nice coincidence." Pidge tried to smile. It wasn't really working, though, and she could feel the corners of her lips twitching.

"Want to know anything else, tough guy? I could talk all day about my real, _living, breathing_ , female partner," Lance sat back and smirked at Keith, who just glared at him annoyed.

"Hey Keith, do you have a girlfriend?" Hunk turned to face him, an exhilirated expression on his face. _Surprisingly, Hunk had even more of an obsession with gossip than Lance did._

"No. Nor do I need one." Keith curtly replied.

"How could he have one? He was living in a shack in the middle of nowhere on Earth," Lance laughed.

"I'll have you know that nearly every girl in class had asked me out to the Garrison Dance while I was there," Keith answered cooly, reaching over to put a hand on the grip of his sword. Lance immediately shut up.

"Then what about you, Pidge? Don't you have a girlfriend?" Hunk exclaimed at her.

"I-I don't see a need to answer," Pidge avoided his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. "Can I leave now?"

"No!" Lance shouted. "Hunk, grab Pidge!"

Confused, Hunk hurriedly held her down. It was a bad habit of his to follow orders whenever he was surprised.  
Lance dashed out of the room.

"No! Let me go!" Pidge squirmed and kicked as Hunk held her arms.

"Uhh, I dunno. What should I do?" Hunk looked blankly at Keith. Keith shrugged and sighed. Quite obviously, he wanted nothing to do with anything Lance was involved with.

After a minute or so, a panting Lance came back to the room, crouching tiredly with his hands on his knees as Pidge continued to squirm and kick.

"This is a photo of you and your girlfriend, right?" Lance held up the photo.

 _The_ photo.

Of Katie and Matt.

Pidge froze.

"It is, isn't it!" Lance laughed. He looked down at the photo. "Oh, she's kinda cute-" His eyes grew wide, looking down at the photo, then back up to Pidge.

"What's up?" Hunk asked, still holding Pidge's arms. Keith stopped his stretches and looked up at them.

 _Lance, don't you dare_ , Pidge silently thought to herself. _Don't you dare._  
She didn't want to be exposed like this. She didn't want to be found out in such a lame, stupid way, when she wasn't even ready for it.  
She wanted to be the one to tell them. Not Lance. _Definitely not Lance._

Shiro had already known who she was, due to pure deduction. Allura seemed to know something too.  
She did want to tell the rest of the team, she really did. She always felt guilty, hiding her true self from her closest friends. But she couldn't tell them yet.

 _Why?_ She didn't really know. Maybe it was for fear that others wouldn't accept her. Or maybe for fear that they would feel betrayed by her words. She wasn't prepared for that. And if Lance was the one to spoil all of it, she would give him hell to pay later.

She tried to pull out of Hunk's grasp, but he was too strong for her.

"Pidge..." Lance whispered quietly. "Pidge, is the girl in the photo yo-"

Pidge couldn't hold back any longer. Tears flowed out from her eyes, and a tiny wail escaped from her mouth.

Surprised, Hunk let go of her. She ran and ran and ran, pushing Lance out of the way, out the door, through the halls, up the steps, until she reached her room. She slammed the door, locking it behind her.

* * *

 _Why did you run, Pidge?!_ she thought angrily to herself _. That just made everything more awkward._  
She leaned back against the door and crouched on the floor.

She tried to stop crying. She never liked crying that much, since it made her feel more vulnerable than she actually was, but it was difficult to stop once the tears had already flown out.  
She took off her glasses and wiped her tears with her sleeve.  
 _Happy thoughts, happy thoughts,_ she told herself. Her mind kept wandering back to the picture, though. To Matt. To her father.  
 _Shit, my brain is making things worse_ , she sighed. She wanted to be mad, to direct her attention on something else, someone else, but deep down, she knew there was no one really to blame.  
Hunk was just doing what Lance had told him. Keith just happened to be there. And Lance... Lance was just fooling around. She knew he didn't have any bad intentions. None of it made her feel better, though.

Eventually, though, she was able to calm down a bit, her heavy breathing slowing down to a few shaky breaths and her sighs turning into small hiccups.

She heard a small knock on her door. She shut her eyes tight and, steadying her voice, spoke out, "Who is it?"

"Uh, hey Pidge, it's me," Lance coughed. "Can I come in...?"

Pidge took a few calm breaths, rubbing her eyes until they felt sore.  
 _C'mon, Pidge, you can do it. Talk to him and get it over with_. He didn't mean any harm... and he had the right to know. After all, they were a team now. It wouldn't be fair to hold things back.

So she put her glasses on, readjusted them smartly, and opened the door.

* * *

Lance shut his eyes and braced himself for a kick, a punch, something, as he heard Pidge's door slide open.  
But nothing came.

 _Maybe Pidge wasn't as mad at him as he had thought?_

He opened one eye to look at the smaller paladin.

 _Or maybe not._

Pidge's eyes looked red and quite obviously tired. Lance felt his stomach drop with guilt. It was kinda- mostly- completely his fault that Pidge ended up bawling and running away from the rec room.

"Hey," Lance mumbled, scratching his head. "Uh... can I come in?"  
Pidge stepped back from the door, arm gesturing out to the room, so Lance walked slowly in.

The lights were dim, and the room felt cold. The bed was a mess, and the desk was cluttered with computers and other bits of technology Lance had no idea about. Pidge's backpack was sprawled on the floor, its contents seeping out of the open pockets. In the far corner hung some photos, all of them with people that resembled those in the photo Lance had found earlier. The one that _he_ had taken.

He took a seat on the chair by the desk. Pidge plopped down on the bed, refusing to look at him.

"Pidge, listen... I'm sorry," Lance muttered. "That photograph was important to you, but then I handled it ignorantly. I'm really sorry." He held out the photo.

"... Don't apologize," Pidge sighed, taking the photo from Lance and putting it in one of the desk drawers. "You didn't know any better."

"B-but still! I should've thought more about your own feelings before teasing you," Lance sat up. "I'm really sorry."

"No, no, it's fine," Pidge leaned back on the bed. "I'm the one who should be sorry, especially for keeping such important information from you guys."

"Don't worry about it! No one's mad at you," Lance assured, reaching out a hand to pat Pidge on the head. "It's alright."

"... Reallly? Is it really alright?" Pidge whispered coarsely.

"Yeah! I think Keith's a little jealous, but otherwise, it's all good!" Lance grinned.

"... Jealous? What the hell do you mean?" Pidge swung around suddenly to face him.

"Uh, well, I mean, who wouldn't be jealous to have a cute girlfriend like that? You're really lucky!" Lance winked. "Oh, and, uh, I'm really sorry but I, uh, kinda hit on her before we left Earth. But-but in my defense I didn't know she was yours! If I did I definitely wouldn't have!" Lance shook his head and held out his hands in apology.

Pidge stared at him in something that looked like a mix between horror and shock.  
 _Hmm, maybe I should've kept that part about hitting on his girlfriend to myself_ , Lance scratched his nose.

* * *

Pidge didn't know if she wanted to laugh, cry, or slap him.


	4. hints

"He's _stupid_ , Shiro," Pidge sighed as her feet dangled along the edge of the bridge. She held out her hands in exasperation. "He's a total _idiot_!"

Shiro ruffled her hair with his hand as he sat down next to her. "Hey, c'mon, Pidge, don't say stuff like that about your friends-"  
Pidge glared at him.  
"-uh, your teammates."

She groaned. "But how can someone be so dense? He saw me as a girl, he saw me as a boy, he saw me in the freaking photograph; and yet, he _still_ doesn't recognize me!" Pidge dragged her hands down her cheeks, moaning. "And because of that, even I feel stupid!"

"Pidge, we both know you aren't stupid," Shiro whispered softly. "And we both know that Lance is a little slow. But don't worry about it. Everything will sort itself out in the end."

"But that's _just the thing_ , Shiro," Pidge buried her face in her hands. "I don't know if this will ever end."

"Pidge."

She sighed.

"Pidge, look at me."

She shook her head quickly.

"Pidge," Shiro gently peeled one of her hands away from her face. Hesitantly, she looked up to face him, small tears forming on the sides of her eyes. She sniffled.

"Pidge, it'll be fine. Don't worry. We'll find Matt and your father soon, I promise," he ruffled her hair again. "But you have to be confident."

Pidge gave him a small smile. He pulled her in for a hug. "It'll be fine. Everything will be fine."  
Pidge giggled as Rover 2.0 (she had managed) glided by and nudged her on the cheek. She reached out and gave Rover 2.0 a hug too (which was a bit difficult to do, but she tried her best).

"I want you to keep in mind, though, that eventually you will need to tell the team the truth," Shiro spoke gently. "You don't need to rush or stress out about it, but keep that in mind."

Pidge nodded slowly in contemplation. "Thanks, Shiro," she grinned, wiping the remnants of tears off her face. "You always make things better."

"That's my job as the Space Dad," Shiro winked.

Pidge gasped. "YOU ADMITTED IT! _Ohmygod, YOU ADMITTED IT_!"

"I guess this calls for a celebration, doesn't it? Let's ask Hunk to bake us a cake for tonight," Shiro smiled.

They both laughed, standing up. With her robot close behind, they headed back into the castle.

* * *

Lance grumbled as he stacked all the plates in his hands and moved to put them in the sink. Since it was his turn to wash the dishes, everyone had already left the kitchen. And since they had eaten dessert tonight, that meant double the amount of cleaning.

Not that he could complain about dessert. Hunk made the best cakes in the universe.  
He started to pick up the forks and a spork (Hunk was glad when he had found them in the castle storage room and refused to use anything else) off the table when Pidge meekly poked her head into the room.

"Hey Lance, mind if I help out?" she asked.

"Uh, no problem." Lance tossed the utensils into the sink. Pidge started picking up the napkins scattered on the table. They worked efficiently and methodically, with Lance washing the kitchenware and Pidge drying them off. After working in silence for twenty minutes, they finished at last, with Pidge finally shutting the door of the dishwasher.

"Funny how for all the technological advancements this castle has, they don't have an easier way of cleaning," Pidge grumbled, wiping her hands on a towel.

"They can make a castle fly and move giant lion robots, but they can't even dry off a dish in five minutes," Lance agreed. "But anyway, uh, did you want to talk about something…?" He glanced at her.

Pidge went quiet, shuffling her feet a bit. "... Well, I just wanted to apologize again, for getting angry at you…"

"No, like I said, I was the one being a jerk. You have nothing to apologize about," Lance shook his head, resting a hand on the counter. "Really."

"... And, I also wanted to tell you something," Pidge fidgeted again. "The truth is, the girl in the photo, Katie… she's not my girlfriend…"

"Oh." Lance sighed with relief. Relief? He frowned. Why did he feel relieved…?

"Yeah," Pidge nodded. "The girl in the photo is actually-"

"EVERYONE! STAY CALM, BUT _WE'RE UNDER ATTACK_!" Coran's voice blasted through the speakers. Pidge and Lance perked up to the sound. They ran out the door, grabbing their suits along the racks in the hallway as they dashed the the control room.

"What happened?!" Pidge yelled as she skidded to a stop in front of Coran, who was standing in front of the control panels. She quickly started putting on her suit, while Lance struggled to put on his belt. Keith, Shiro, and Hunk ran into the room shortly after, all three of them already in their getups.

"What's going on?!" Shiro ran up to Allura, who turned away from the displays to face him.

"Surprise! Practice alarm!" she smiled, holding out her hands to everyone. "You guys did great this time!"

Shiro's face blanked out for a moment. Then he faced the rest of the team, beaming at their success.

Keith crossed his arms, slightly irked by the disturbance of his training, but understanding that practice alarms were a necessity if they wanted to be prepared for the real deal.

Hunk looked confused at first. Then, realizing what she had meant, thought sadly of the half-eaten muffin he had thrown out in a hurry.

"But," Allura frowned. "Lance, Pidge, you guys were a bit slow. Though you both ran here before the others, you still hadn't gotten dressed. Keep that in mind for next time."

Pidge nodded sadly in disappointment. Lance grumbled as he still struggled to buckle his belt properly.

"Well, you all are dismissed! Thanks to you all, we were able to test our alarm and announcement speakers for the twelfth time this week!" Coran stood up proudly, slightly twirling his impressive 'stache.

Keith and Hunk turned to leave.

Shiro went over to Pidge. "Don't worry too much about it. You were close. You'll get it next time," he comforted, holding out a hand. Pidge grinned and high-fived it. Shiro smiled back, and headed for the door.

Allura glided over to her and Lance. "Just as Shiro said," Allura looked back and forth between the two, "You both will get it perfect next time! I know it!" She flashed them one of her famous, breathtaking smiles.

Lance couldn't hold it any longer. "Hey, Allura," he started. "Are you an alien?"

"What in the _quiznak_ do you mean?" Allura raised an eyebrow.

"Because-"

" _Because you look out-of-this-world_!" Pidge cut him off, laughing. "Isn't that right, Lance?" She swung around and skipped out of the room.

"Oh," Allura sighed. "Is that one of your… what do you call it… 'pick-up lines'...? While I am flattered, Lance, I honestly don't know what to say."

"It's a compliment! Just treat it like one. And while we're at it, let me treat you to dinner," Lance snapped his fingers and pointed at her with both hands.

"Lance, you and I both know that the only food we have accessible out here is in our kitchen. I appreciate the thought, though," Allura smiled. She turned around and got back to work on the displays.

Lance sighed. Rejected again. _Well, it's more fun when she's hard-to-get_ , he supposed.

He was heading back to the kitchen when a tiny lightbulb flickered in his vast (" _and empty_ ," Keith always said) brain. What was it…?

For some reason... the fact that Pidge knew his own pick-up line made him uncomfortable. Weird. _Hmm… I'm pretty sure I made it up myself…_

Did he ever tell Pidge it before? Did he ever tell anyone his pick-up line before…?

Well, there was that one time. _With Katie_. But that was the first time he had used it. And the only other time.

Eh, maybe he was mistaken. Maybe Pidge had heard it somewhere else. Well, who cared. _It was just a pick-up line anyway._

Lance sauntered around the castle, his hands behind his head as he whistled to himself without a care in the world.

The little lightbulb, though, lingered in his brain.


	5. denial

"... So, long story short, I'm a girl." Pidge lifted her glasses. "Though I'm sure all of you knew that by now."

Hunk nodded. "Yeah, pretty much figured." Keith shrugged.

"We were supposed to think you were a boy?" Coran twirled his impressive 'stache.

"I already knew~" Allura grinned, clasping her hands together. "The mice told me."  
The paladins paused to stare at Allura.

"What? It's normal," Allura shook her head defensively.

"The princess is quite special," Coran reminded them.

"Ah, right," Hunk muttered. "Sorry, I keep forgetting your brain is mentally connected to animals after sleeping for 10,000 years..."

"I'm proud of you, Pidge," Shiro patted her on the back. "You finally had the courage to tell them the truth."

Lance's face looked blank. "Pidge is a girl? What?"

"Yeah," Pidge turned to face him. "Girl as in female, not male, opposite gender of you, spelled as _'G', 'I', 'R', 'L'_..."

"I know how to spell it," he snapped back. "I was just... clarifying, is all."

"Well, that's that, I guess," Pidge smiled, readjusting her glasses. Lance just went back to having a blank stare.

"Hey guys, guess what I found yesterday in the back hall!" Hunk perked up. " _A DDR machine_! A working one! We should check it out!"

"A 'DDR machine'?" Coran scratched his chin. "Ah, are you perhaps referring to the princess's excersice box...?"

"Uh, is that what they call it here...?" Hunk frowned. Even Shiro looked mildly concerned.

"No, no, the princess's box is a one-of-a-kind! She uses it for her warmups everyday. It's been passed down the family for generations," Coran stood up proudly, arms folded behind his back.

"You've been playing.. _DDR_... every single day, while we were here, and you never even told us?!" Hunk cried out.

Allura tilted her head to the side. "I'm just exercising. Is there a problem...? What is this 'DDR' you speak of...?"

"Dance now, explain later!" Hunk jumped to his feet and gestured to the others. "C'mon, guys, let's have a competition!"

Lance snapped out of his daze at the word 'competition.' "Keith, I challenge you to a duel! I bet you I'll beat you!" He sat up excitedly, then paused. "... Wait, what are we competing for...?"

"DDR! Let's go!" Hunk dashed out of the room.

"Right!" Lance grabbed a pissed Keith's arm and dragged him out, his grumbles growing louder and louder as Lance tugged on his jacket. Pidge and Shiro followed behind, laughing.

Coran looked to Allura. She shrugged, confused, and they both headed out. "I'm not sure you'll understand it though!" Coran shouted down the hall to Hunk, who had already run far ahead. "It only plays classical, traditional Altean music...!"

* * *

 _'Traditional Altean music,' my ass_ , Pidge laughed to herself as something that sounded very curiously like K-pop blasted from the castle speakers.

By the end of the round, Lance had lost to Keith by 58 to 2. Who knew Keith had it in him.

* * *

The next morning went by calmly.

Hunk had finished cooking an amazing new type of pasta, Shiro and Keith got through training in a breeze, Pidge was able to fix the castle servers, and Allura successfully completed her morning workout on the "Princess Exercise Box" with Coran clapping supportively by her side.

It was half past noon, though, when Lance finally arose from his beauty sleep.

 _I had a strange dream last night..._ Lance groaned as he sat up on bed. He draped on his robe and stuck his feet in his slippers, pulling off his nightcap. _Funny, though, I can't remember what it was..._  
He trudged through the halls, stretching his arms out as he headed to the bathroom. _What was it about, again...?_

As he walked into the bathroom, the lights flickered on. He gave his face a clean rinse, and squeezed some paste on his toothbrush. _It had something to do with Pidge, I know that much._ What was it...?

He scrubbed his teeth efficiently, making sure he reached all the way to his back molars. It was tough, having looks as great as his. He really had to work to match the standards.  
 _Ah. That's right._ Wasn't it a dream about Pidge saying he was a girl? _Huh._ He couldn't imagine why he would dream something like that.

The bathroom door flew open and Pidge wandered inside. "Oh, sorry Lance, didn't know you'd woken up," Pidge apologized.

"Ish cool," Lance mumbled, his toothbrush still in his mouth. And then he choked.

He coughed into the sink, rinsing with water as fast as he could. Wiping his mouth on the towel, he turned to Pidge and gasped, "What-what are you wearing?"

Pidge looked down at her clothes. "Oh, this?" she twirled around, showing off her skirt. "I dunno, just something Allura found for me. I didn't really wanna wear it, but she insisted, saying something about always wanting a 'younger sister' to dress up."

"But... isn't it uncomfortable?" Lance coughed again. "Wearing a skirt."

"Why? I mean, I used to do it all the time, before enlisting in the Garrison..." her eyes grew wide. " _Oh, hell no_ , Lance, don't tell me you've seriously forgotten yesterday."

"Yesterday? Did anything unusual happen yesterday?" Lance frowned.

"Don't tell me you have amnesia."

"No way! My brain is perfectly fine."

"Then do I have to say it again? Lance, _I'm a girl_ ," Pidge emphasized the last statement.

"What." Lance stared at her.

She facepalmed. " _Lance. I. Am. A. Girl._ " She stood against the wall, banging her head against the door in sync with her words. " _What. Do. You. Not. Under. -Stand._ "  
"You know what," she whipped around. "I'm gonna use a different bathroom."

With that, she left.

* * *

"Hey, guys, did you know that Pidge was a girl?" Lance asked as he sat down with a juice pouch on the couch.

Hunk and Keith just stared at him. "Lance, we discussed this yesterday," Hunk replied. "Remember?"

Lance crossed his arms. "No way."

"Uh, yes way."

"Then what's her real name?" Lance scratched his head.

"We also discussed this yesterday. Her name is Katie!" Hunk sighed. "Like your girlfriend! Geez, Lance, just how bad can your memory get?!"

Lance froze, deep in thought. _Katie?_ Brown hair, bright eyes... Rover...

 _Couldn't have been a coincidence..._  
He groaned. His brain hurt from thinking too much. Besides, he was probably wrong. He usually was wrong, anyway. _No need to stress it._

"Just take it as it is. Don't think too much about it, Lance," Keith warned. "Your brain will probably fry if you do."

"Shut up, Keith," Lance grumbled. He stood up and left the room, sipping his drink.

In the halls, he once again ran into Pidge.  
"Oh, it's Lance," Pidge stuck out her tongue. "Do you remember yet? Yesterday's talk?"

"... Katie?" Lance mumbled.

"Oh, so you remember my actual name now. What a surprise. You can still call me Pidge, though," she shrugged. "Yeah, my real name's Katie, the one you flirted with back on Earth. The one who is supposedly _my own_ _girlfriend_."

Lance blanked out. "You are _not_ Katie."

" _What_."

"You can't be Katie!" Lance shook his head.

"Lance, are you really that big of an idiot? I'm telling you, right to your face, that _yes, I am Katie_!" she groaned, crossing her arms. " _Ugh_ , I never should've talked to you back in the Kerberos Kafé..."

Lance frowned.

Katie wanted to scream for probably the thirtieth time today.

* * *

"Whoa, Pidge, what's with the getup?" Hunk pulled open a box of space donuts, setting it on the living room table.

Pidge sighed, pouring herself a cup of water. "It's for Lance's sake. And my own sanity." She drank the whole glass in one gulp.

Pidge had printed out seven of those little "Hello, my name is" stickers, had scribbled "KATIE/PIDGE" on all of them in bright red marker, and had stuck them randomly over her shirt and shorts. She also, on her back, had strapped a bright yellow neon sign with her two names in bold.

She poured herself another cup of water, and waddled back to her room, grumbling.

Allura sighed. "Poor Pidge."

Keith nodded. "Lance really doesn't have the brain capacity for this."

"But still, why is he so shocked? Was it really that surprising?" Coran frowned.

"I'm not shocked," Lance sauntered in cooly. "I'm normal."

"Hey, Lance," Shiro greeted. "We were just talking about you."

"Yeah, I heard," Lance replied. "I also heard what you said about me, Keith," he growled.

Keith ignored him, dusting off his jacket.

"Lance, really, you're driving Pidge insane." Hunk took a bite out of his donut.

"But she- she keeps saying that she's Katie!" Lance cried out.

"Because it's _true_. Oh, and we also heard from her that you lied about having a girlfriend," Keith smirked, his eyes flickering up to glance at Lance's horrified expression.

"You were talking about Pidge?! _Oh,_ _quiznak_ ," Hunk facepalmed, stuffing the rest of the donut in his mouth.

"I didn't know at the time that Pidge was Katie! Otherwise I wouldn't have said that!" Lance huffed, annoyed. "Oh, wait, _no_ , I meant Pidge isn't Katie! Pidge just calls herself that!"

"Dude, chill. Why are you denying it that hard?" Hunk grabbed another donut.

Lance frowned. "I'm not denying anything! I just can't believe that the cute girl I flirted with back on Earth was Pidge!"

Hunk laughed. "Lance, though you keep saying otherwise, you actually enjoy Pidge's company, don't you?"

" _No way_!" Lance pouted, grabbing a donut from the box.

Hunk stared at him. "... Dude, I don't want to spoil it for you, but, uh..."  
"... your face is very red," Keith observed calmly, taking a small sip of coffee.

Allura and Coran both gasped, the main difference between their reactions being that the princess's eyes twinkled with excitement while her faithful second-in-command thumbed his impressive 'stache nervously.  
Shiro looked up from his tech manual, one eyebrow raised slightly.

"Stop messing with me, man," Lance mumbled. "Don't get any weird ideas now."

"Oh my god," Hunk's jaw dropped, halfway through his bite. "It's true."  
Allura squealed. "This is so exciting!" she clapped happily. "Lance actually _enjoys_ talking to Pidge!"

"You guys annoy me," Lance groaned. "I don't like talking to that boring midget." He picked up another donut and headed out.  
He immediately poked his head again around the corner, shouting, "Ah, but when I say that, I'm not saying that you are annoying, Allura!"

They could hear his footsteps' echoes quiet down as he walked farther away from the living room.

"Well," Coran cleared his throat. The room went silent as Hunk finished his donuts, Keith finished his coffee, and Allura finished her squealing.

Suddenly Shiro jumped up and dashed out the door. He sped up through the hallway, arms and legs bending ninety degrees, palms flat out, and head slightly lowered like a rhino stampeding across the terrain. The wind whooshed past him as he caught up to Lance, who looked back in surprise.

Lance turned and jumped backwards to avoid crashing into the sprinting older paladin. "Whoa, Shiro, what's up?"

Shiro slowed down, pausing to catch his breath. He then rested his hand on Lance's shoulder as his eyes stared into Lance's soul.

"Uh, Shiro? You okay?" Lance shifted uncomfortably as Shiro's grip tightened on his shoulder.

Shiro sighed. "I know you're a good man. I entrust her to you." He looked like a father giving away his daughter's hand in marriage. He quietly turned and walked away.

 _Um._


End file.
